It was a Tuesday
by NorthernDancer31
Summary: Felicity's life is turns upside down when a familiar face from her past shows up at her office one tuesday morning. Along with a sly smile, the girl brings up questions Felicity wants to keep buried. How will she fit into Felicity's and team Arrows life? Will she be able to or will everything go up in Smoak? Olicity slow burn
1. Emaline Smoak

**IMPORTANT NOTICE: I have rewritten most of the chapters because I wasnt happy with my work. For those of you who did already read it, you don't need to reread it since nothing different happens its just written differently! I really appreciate all of you who have followed this story! Hope you enjoy!**

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It was a Tuesday. A normal, run-of-the-mill Tuesday morning. Felicity Smoak sat in her new office at Queen Consolidated looking out over the recovering city, while her hands flew across her keyboard and her eyes darted back and forth between the monitors that covered her desk.

She was currently trying to find the whereabouts of a particularly sleazy thug who team arrow had just become aware of, while simultaneously reviewing, brainstorming and preparing to discuss numbers for the co generation project that Ray Palmer had ambushed her with that frightful morning a few weeks ago, and ever so nicely, if not a bit guiltily, asking for another cup of coffee from Jerry, who seemed hesitant to bring his boss her fourth caffeinated drink this morning.

So, yeah, Tuesday morning. Standard stuff.

She jotted down a few points for the co generation numbers, as her searches ran and Jerry returned with a steaming cup of what she considered the elixir of life.

"Mr. Palmer was wondering if you would be ready to discuss the numbers on the Co Generation Project soon." Jerry said.

"Oh. Yeah. I mean yes. Could you please tell him I will be there in like… 10 minutes..." said she distractedly, her hands still a fury over the keyboard. "15 minutes. Maximum."

The young EA nodded and started walking out as she took a sip of coffee and breathed a sigh of contentment.

"Thank you Jerry!" she said hurriedly, almost forgetting, as he had just reached the door. He gave her a friendly and slightly humoured smile and went to relay her message to Palmer.

She felt a glint of pride as a map popped up on her screen and a little red dot indicating the thugs' hideout came up. She quickly pulled out her phone and pressed speed dial 2. It was perfectly acceptable. She worked with him. He was her friend. She needed a way to get in touch with him quickly. It wasn't weird.

"Felicity?"

"Hi. He's hiding out at 49 Granth Street. Looks like it's pretty secluded… " Felicity continued on, giving him any information he might need to catch said sleazebag later that night. She didn't even notice her office door open and Captain Lance walk in with a young brunette.

"Miss Smoak?" Lance called gently, now standing only a few feet from her desk.

"I think if you went in…" she stopped mid sentence as she looked up and inhaled sharply. She then released a shaky breathe at the sight in front of her. "…oh god."

She absentmindedly ended the call and got up to move around the desk slowly, jaw still stack from shock of the mid-teen that stood in front of her. The girl was shifting her glance constantly from Felicity to the floor to her fidgeting hands and back again. Her hair had gotten longer but it was still dark and curly and tangled all around her faced and down her back. That hadn't changed. She was small but she had grown up so much. Felicity was amazed at how much they looked like. She had known they looked similar but never expected the kind of resemblance that stood in front of her. Her face was so similar to Felicity's, apart from the hair and the chocolaty brown eyes that were currently staring back at her.

"Didn't forget about me already did you, _sis_?" the teen said, with a touch of mischief and a slight laugh, but Felicity knew her too well to let the nervous undertone go amiss.

"I…No, of course not" Felicity stuttered. Felicity walked the final steps and pulled her sister into a hug. Felicit was shocked at how peace settled over her in that moment, especially since the very thought of the young girls presence here caused her stomach to knot. She wrapped one arm around the smaller girl and the other hand was at the back of her head gently stroking over her hair. Felicity felt the rapid beating coming from her sisters' chest and it broke her own drumming heart, knowing that their reunion had this many nerves involved.

" I see you met Captain Lance" Felicity said stepping back and watching the nerves dissipate a little in her young sister. Felicity gave Lance a genuine smile as the younger smoak sister looked out at the skyscrapers that surrounded her and made her way around Felicity towards her desk.

"Yup, we're buds" the younger Smoak replied as she plopped down into Felicitys' office chair and twisted back and forth playfully, while giving Lance a tilt of the head and a smirk. Lance just huffed and rolled his eyes good-naturedly.

"I don't usually do this kind of call anymore but when I heard there was another Smoak in town I had to meet her." He said, giving her a smile that didn't reach his eyes.

This kind of call.

Oh, Right. Felicity had been so stunned by her sisters appearance, that it had just dawned on her that her sister had had a police. That was not a good sign.

Before she was able to question that though, a familiar deep voice shouted her name and had her jumping a foot in the air, and her sister snapping out of the chair, the easygoing façade replaced instantly with a well practiced blank face as she prepared for fight or flight. Oliver blew into the room with Diggle at his heels both looking poised and ready to fight. Their wild eyes and stern faces flickered back and forth between Felicity and her sister until Oliver focused on the older Smoak and his well rehearsed expressionless face failed to conceal the confusion from her. Diggle held the younger sister with a testing stare. The small brunette levelled him with the same stare and Diggle recognized the spark in her eyes from another Smoak he knew. Needless to say, she passed his test.

"Oliver? Diggle?" Felicity said, stunned.

"Queen?" Lance questioned, surprised by Oliver's presence here.

"Oliver _Queen_?" stated the stunned teenager.

"Quentin" Oliver said, turning his attention to the older man and nodded his head in greeting.

"Captain" Diggle greeted.

"Felicity?" Ray asked entering the room and taking in the bizarre situation.

"Ray!" Felicity said realizing he must have been waiting for her to talk numbers on the co generation project.

"Palmer" Lance said in greeting to the man, with a handshake.

"_Ray_ Palmer?" said the now even more stunned teen.

"oh. Oliver" Ray said seeing and greeting Oliver friendly.

"Ray" Oliver replied.

"Mr. Diggle" Ray said turning his attention to John.

"Mr. Palmer" Diggle acknowledged with a nod.

"EMALINE" The little Smoak announced using her loud voice, finally stopping that painfully strange set of introductions and drawing everyone's attention to her with a slightly stunned look.

"Hii" said Emaline with the patented Smoak tilt of the head and a wide grin. She wandered over from her place by the window to stand next to her sister.

"oh. Right. Guys, this is my sister, Emaline." Felicity managed, motioning to her sister. "Emaline, this is…"

"Oliver Queen, Ray Palmer, Mr. Diggle. And, yeah, I already know the cop" She said cutting her sister off, clearly paying attention during that extremely strange slew of greetings that had happened previous. "Jeez, Fel, I've only been here for like half and second and I've already met your boss, boyfriend _and_ your bodyguard." She gave a little laugh.

"Oh god. He's not… That's not what… I mean Ray _is _my boss. And Oliver _was _my boss, but now he's not. Obviously, because I have a new boss. But Diggle is Oliver's, um, bodyguard. And Oliver is a, uh, friend." Felicity stuttered. The three men gave each other sideways glances and shifted uncomfortably.

"Ok. Now that everyone knows who everyone is and _isn't_," Captain Lance said pointedly, obviously not comfortable talking about his daughters ex-boyfriends love life. "I need to speak to Ms. Smoak. Both of them. Privately."

As the three men started silently filing out of the room, Oliver caught Felicity's eye and the two shared a silent conversation.

_Are you okay?_

_I'll be fine._

Although not fully convinced, Oliver made his way out of the room but just before leaving he turned to Emaline.

"It was nice to meet you" He said with a genuine smile, humoured by the young girls resemblance to his blonde partner and with one last comforting look to Felicity, he left.

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**Hope you enjoyed this! PLease let me know what you thought with a comment! **


	2. Whatever Floats your Boat

She tried to take in all of what the Captain was saying but, honestly, she'd be lying if she said she caught on to half of the story. She could hear her heartbeat in her ears and knew whatever was coming, it was bad.

…. _Drug ring was found…_

When she caught those words, she prayed it wasn't what she thought it was. Felicity looked over at Emaline who was sitting next to her on her office couch. She admired the strength she saw in the teen as the young smoak plastered on a strong face but the sadness in her eyes broke Felicity's heart and made everything that much more real for her.

_…. Your mother…_

It felt like déjà vu. Her stomach kept dropping to her feet and she wondered if she would obtain permanent damage from it. Why does history always have a sick way of repeating itself? She knew this story. She had lived it before but now instead of her enduring it; it had to be Emaline dealing with the broken mess.

_…. Suspected involvement..._

This wasn't fair. She is too young. This wasn't supposed to happen to her, she deserved better. Felicity rested her elbows on her knees and put head in her hands. She took another look at her sister, who was nervously trying to gage her reaction. Her eyes still held a kind of youthful innocence but Felicity knew well enough that you couldn't leave Sin City while being unscathed.

"What does Emaline have to do with all of this?" Felicity interrupted all of Lances police talk, finally having found her voice.

"Well, since your mother has been suspected of a major crime and was found with drugs in her possession, she has been checked into a rehab clinic under police watch. At this time you won't be able to contact her, its part of her treatment, but I will let you know when she is allowed calls. Since Emaline is a minor, she needs a guardian, and being her only other relative we could find, custody would fall to you until this matter is sorted out. There are other options, although, if you are unable to…"

"No." Felicity stated quickly. "I mean yes. I want her. I-I'll do it."

She knew it was her time to be strong and to be there for her sister. Her heart clenched with guilt, when she heard the smallest relieved sigh come from Emaline. This girl needed her, and come hell and high seas she was going to do what was right by her this time. No matter what.

Xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

The car was filled with loaded silence. Both men sat stiffly as they made their way to Verdant.

"Did you know?" Diggle said, finally cutting through the silence.

"No, she never mentioned her." Oliver said trying to sound even, but not making eye contact, knowing Diggle would be able see through his poker face.

"There was probably a good reason, man. You saw her in there. She was scared. We need to help her with whatever's going on there before we start asking her to drudge up her past."

He should have known Diggle would be able to read him like a book without even a glance in his direction.

Xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

After Felicity had gone through all the necessary steps and signed the papers naming her the temporary guardian of one Emaline Smoak, Captain Lance left, promising he would be in touch, and Ray re-entered the room. Emaline watched with slightly raised eyebrows as he and Felicity interacted in there in their normal, if not slightly awkward, manner. He told her to take the rest of the day off, clearly understanding that some kind of bomb had just been dropped.

"Did he get freaky-fridayed with a highly caffeinated five year old or something?" Emaline asked arching an eyebrow once both women were leaving. Felicity snorted a laugh.

"Not that I know of, he's actually really smart. I mean, obviously he's CEO of a fortune 500 company but yeah, he's kinda got that whole 'over-caffeinated kid' thing going on."

"I'm just saying, if we see a 5 year old running around talking about 'the good old days' I wouldn't be surprised."

Felicity relished in the fact that they could be so comfortable around each other so quickly, even with the underlying tension. They spent the rest of the journey to Felicity's apartment falling in and out of comfortable silence and general catch-up. It didn't take long for Felicity to notice that she wasn't the only one editing the truth, though.

"Here we are", She said unlocking her apartment and stepping inside with Emaline following. She put her bag down and started taking off her coat.

"Shouldn't that say 'The Arrow'?'' Emaline said with a laugh, pointing at the Robing hood poster that hung on Felicity's living room wall.

Felicity snapped around to look at her sister eyes wide and, heart racing at the mention of Oliver's alter ego.

"What. No. _No._ Wh-why would you say that?" There is no way her sister was able to know she worked with the arrow.

"He's the _Starling City_ vigilante, right?" Emaline said with furrowed brows.

"He's not a vigilante" Felicity said reflexively. Crap, too defensive. "I mean, he does a lot of good in this city. He's not like everyone thinks he is."

"He helped you didn't he?" Emaline asked easily, wandering around, looking at the apartment.

"Yeah. He did." Felicity answered watching the young girl closely in slight confusion.

"Well, whatever he wants to be called or whatever he's done, if he saved you, he's good in my books. Kinda makes him a hero, right?" The young girl then turned to look at her sister with her big, brown eyes. Felicity stood rooted to the floor, the shock and pride of her sisters' statement written across her face.

"Yeah, it does" Felicity replied with a light smile. She would never be able to share what she did with her sister. Never get the opportunity to explain the work she put in to help save her city. Or have an excuse for the late nights, long hours, and little white lies she would have to say. But knowing that her sister approved of the work and man that meant so much to her helped ease the pain and guilt she felt for keeping such a large secret.

The rest of the afternoon passed with safer topics of conversations. Felicity ordered in take out and Emaline went to unpack the little things she had. When they ate they played catch up again, Felicity learned about Emalines school and what courses she was taking. Felicity talked about Queen Consolidated, which was now Palmer Technologies.

"Yeah about that. How many billionaires _do_ you know? I mean mom mentioned something, but I thought she was kidding. Not that you dating a billionaire is a joke, it's just it's _Oliver Queen. _And Ray Palmer. You have literally got the dating pool lotto win. Twice." Emaline rambles.

"Ray is my boss and, well, Oliver is my ex-boss… they're both just friends though. I did go on a date with them… separately! Not together, there was two separate dates. With time in between. I…ugh… it's confusing" Felicity managed to get out.

Emaline let out a little laugh and took a bite of her food. "Well, Oliver went from peeing on cops to inhabiting inhabitable islands and, we have already been over Ray's whole freaky-Friday complex, so I would be more confused if you thought it wasn't confusing. What about that other guy? Dig...gle?" She said, trying to remember the name of the man.

"He is a good friend. Solely friend, considering he is married-ish" she replied easily, relieved to talk about probably the only man in her life that things weren't complicated with.

Suddenly, there was a knock on the door and Felicity got up from their picnic on her living room carpet to answer it. She expected it to be Mrs. Fernan asking if she'd seen her cat, or even Ray with some crazy, if not really genius, idea for the company. What she didn't expect was….

"Hi"

Oliver and Diggle.

Felicity froze and racked her brain, scrabbling to put a mental picture of what her apartment looked like currently so she knew what to hide from sight first when she finally did get over the fact Oliver was at her apartment for the first time. She stood there with a blank expression, the only feature betraying her were her slightly wide eyes.

"I wanted to see how you were doing." Oliver said with a way too innocent smile.

"Thanks, but you really didn't need to come all the way over here." Felicity said, finding her voice. She could feel the blush creeping up into her cheeks.

"I was in the neighbourhood." He said with a shrug. Diggle snorted, crossed his arms and rolled his eyes. Felicity's blush definitely just grew '"3 shades darker.

"Oh, sorry, come on in." Felicity said, realizing they were all still standing in the doorway. The two men made their way into the apartment and Felicity noticed the smallest hint of a smile on Oliver's face.

Dammit. He'd seen the Robin Hood poster.

Team Arrows eyes all stopped on Emaline who was in her own world and had just popped a few fries in her mouth. She stopped mid chew when she noticed the trio's stares.

"Do you wanna join us…?" She asked slowly. "I mean, I don't know if you eat this kinda stuff," Emaline said looking to Oliver, "but we _definitely _have enough."

"What kind of stuff do you think I eat?" Oliver asked, as the three moved towards the girl and the pile of food. Unbelievable. Oliver chuckled. Emaline had just made Oliver _chuckle._ Felicity was shocked.

"I don't know. Caviar? Diamonds? Whatever floats your boat." Emaline said picking up her burger to take a bite.

The whole room froze.

Emaline dropped her burger. "Holy crap." She said her eyes as wide as dinner plates. "Did I just…tell me I didn't _actually…_ I swear I didn't mean it like _that,_ I mean, I _did_ but I _should not _have because that was rude because of… ya I don't need to explain that to y-you get it, and I'm still talking, I should stop talking, I'm stopping, now, right now." Emaline rushed out, the red in her cheeks well surpassing that of Felicity's now.

"I see the relation." Diggle said with a small laugh as he reached for some Big Belly Burger. Felicity sat down next to her sister, who was still blushing strongly and looked to be in shock.

"I just made a nautical joke in front of Oliver_ freaking_ Queen" Emaline whispered turning to her sister.

"Don't worry, it wasn't half as bad as some of the things I said to him." Felicity reassured the young girl.

She was surprised at how easily the rest of afternoon went. There were no more nautical jokes and her boys seemed to get along easily with Emaline. It lessened some of Felicity's nerves and baffled her how the people who represented the two major, and majorly different, parts of her life connected so seamlessly.


	3. Fitting In

Felicity shuffled her feet in her fuzzy slippers from her bedroom towards the kitchen while wrapping herself in her fuzzy robe and rubbing the sleep from her eyes. Ugh, she just wanted to go back to bed. The rich smell of coffee guided her in her half sleeping state to where Emaline was siting on the countertop cross legged, with two cups of coffee, one of which she extended to Felicity, the same way Felicity had found her pretty much every morning in the weeks since her arrival. Felicity tried to protest saying that a young teenager probably shouldn't be drinking coffee regularly but she had failed that argument miserably.

"I'm already small, looks like I'm gonna stay that way" Emaline had said with a shrug, a sly smile came across her face as she got a wicked thought "I'll stop if you stop" she added with a rebellious smirk. The girl had a point. Felicity was probably her age or younger when she started drinking coffee regularly and like hell she was giving up her coffee.

"Morning" Emaline looking up from her crosswords puzzle in her lap and gave Felicity a sweet smile, her chocolaty eyes shining bright. Felicity would never understand morning people. She answered her in a smile and sigh of contentment. She was surprised to say that she enjoyed this easy rhythm she and Emaline had found. A nagging voice at the back of Felicitys mind echoed the worry Felicity had since Emalines arrival. She was living in a house of cards. Everything was stable now but the slightest pressure in the wrong place and Felicitys whole word would crumble into bits.

Felicity leaned back against the counter adjacent from the one Emaline currently sat on and peacefully enjoyed the image in front of her with a slight smile on her face. Emalines eyebrows were knitted together as she sat cross-legged in PJ's, leaned over the crosswords in her lap and chewing on the end of her pencil. She let out a frustrated sigh and put her mug down before scooping up all of her wild curls and positioning them in a messy bun on top of her head. She was stuck on a word.

Felicity had come to know the younger Smoak much better since she arrived. She never thought she could ever get to feel this kind of comfort with this girl. It wasn't long ago that the mention of her sisters name would cause a full blown panic. But the more Felicity got to know Emaline, the more she felt the love she had for the girl and the less Felicity noticed the demons she had always associated the little Smoak with. Felicity had listened to Emaline speak of her life back in Vagas and couldn't help feeling the sting of guilt knowing she had missed so much of this girls life.

She learned that she was taught to dance by someone she knew at the casino where Donna worked. She was also assured that it was only ballet, and not the kind of dancing Vegas was known for. She was always doing rises with her feet or dancing from room to room when she thought no one was looking. Felicity learned that Emaline _could not_ understand technology for the life of her and that made her laugh.

She also learned that Emaline would startle at the slightest sound and stiffen initially at any touch. The two never talked about it. Emaline never actually brought it up but Felicity pick up the signs. What happens in Vagas, stays in Vagas. Bullshit. Felicity had experience in knowing that that load of crap wasn't true and now it looked like Emaline was aware of it as well.

Felicity finished her cup of coffee, walked over to the sink and rinsed out her cup. She stalked back to her room with a final glance and smile to Emaline and went to go get ready for the day. Felicity had never been a morning person but she found herself loving those few minutes of quiet easy peace she shared with Emaline each morning.

A week or so later, the two Smoaks were driving back from a shopping trip. They had gone to get Emaline some new stuff, considering she had brought very little from Vegas. They were driving back when Felicity's phone beeped as a text came through. Felicity quickly checked the message.

NEED YOU AT THE CLUB

Oliver. Damn. Felicity quickly rambled off some lame excuse about a busted music system at Oliver's club and drove to Verdant. She was thankful she was only met with a laugh and smirk from Emaline saying of _course_ Oliver Queen would have his own a nightclub. Felicity returned the smile; thinking about how in the short time she had been there, Emaline had been able to draw out a side of Oliver the public rarely saw. The side behind all the masks he wore. It was weird seeing them interact but she loved watching them together. It was a side of Oliver that Felicity had never seen and she always felt a swell in her heart seeing their strangely easy friendship.

"I'll wait up here, I think I will offend the technology with my utter lack of understanding for it if I go anywhere near it." Emaline said once inside the club and Felicity was relieved that she didn't have to come up with another lie to tell her sister.

Felicity descended the stairs of the arrow cave and saw Roy siting at her desk.

"Dear God, Dear Lord Roy Harper I will shoot you with one of your own arrows if you so much as touch another one of those keys." Felicity scolded. Roy got out of the chair with his hands up in surrender.

"Stick her in leather and a mask and she'd be intimating enough to put you out of a job" The younger archer said to Oliver who levelled him with a glare.

"There's a new player in town. He was spotted here and here," Oliver said, point at the map on her screen Felicity was now seated in front of. "He approached a girl… she was 12. Lance thinks he's a amateur based on his patterns but if you find him I would like to have a chat"

"Disgusting" she said quietly as she worked.

Dig showed up not long after and Oliver filled him in on what was going on, then the two made their way over to the training matts to spar.

Felicity dug up what she could and Captain Lance was right, the man was sloppy. There was clear evidence of him all over starling but the man was clever enough not to give any camera a full picture of his face. After about an hour and a bit she sent all the information she had come up with to Captain Lance. Oliver and Dig were finishing up as well and as Diggle started getting his things, Oliver made his way over to Felicity.

"You should go home, Emaline's waiting upstairs, right?" he asked, laying a hand on her shoulder gently.

Felicity nodded, turning slightly in her chair to look up at him, smiling slightly.

"How are you doing? I know that this must be a big change for you." He said, returning her smile. He sat down at the chair next to her and rested his elbows on his knees.

" I don't know, I mean, she was about 4 when I left for MIT…I wasn't great at keeping in touch… And now she's here and I am happy that she is but it's just... she's part of a past that I don't like to talk about" Felicity said, looking down at her hands clasped together in her lap. She knew Oliver had questions. She also knew she couldn't answer those questions without bigger scarier ones being brought to the surface.

"That's why you never mentioned her." He might have meant it as a question but it can out more like a statement.

Felicity just nodded. Oliver stood up and got her stuff for her then handed it to her. They made their way up the stairs and into the main area of the club were Emaline was waiting. As they turned the corner from the small hallway into the dance floor, the sight they saw paralyzed Felicity.

Emaline was sitting at the far end of the club, holding baby Sara and the two were playing and giggling.

It was too much. All the underlying tension that had been at the back of her mind since Emaline had gotten here was brought to the surface and it was too much. The young girl. The baby. All surrounded by booze and drugs and parties. Felicity couldn't move and she could barely breathe.

She felt herself gulping down air, suddenly feeling completely derived from oxygen as she took a step backwards and bumped into Oliver's chest. He instinctively wrapped an arm around her waist and she gripped it like a lifeline.

''Get me out of here.'' Her voice was strong but quiet and laced with fear. Oliver turned them around in an instant, walking them back down the little hallway towards the door of the lair. Finding an extra chair, he sat her down and knelt in front of her, never letting go of her hand.

"Take a breath. Relax. It's alright. You're safe." He said looking at her with conviction.

She nodded and stared back at him, blue looking into blue.

_Get it together. He can't know. Get it together. _

She took a few deep breaths trying to settle a calm look over her face and she and Oliver stood up but their hands stayed clasped. Dig came out of the door from the liar then and took in the pair; Felicity still frazzled and Oliver looking concerned.

"Everything ok up here?" Diggle asked, looking between both of them and concern covering his face.

"Why is Sara here?" Felicity asked, still a bit shaky.

"I was out with her even I got Olivers text. I didn't have time to call the babysitter and drop her off and then come here. Emaline said she could look after her." Diggle replied, trying to understand how his daughter had gotten Felicity so twisted up in knots.

_Get it together. They cant know. You've said too much._

She just said, "okay" with a stony expression and walked back out into the main area of the club. Oliver heard her take another shaky breath when she saw the pair again but she stayed strong and made her way over to them, with Dig and Oliver following.

Oliver and Diggle shared several looks in a silent conversation.

_What happened?_

_I don't know_

They held matching concerned looks on both their faces.

Something was going on with their girl.


	4. This Is A Bad Idea

This was a bad idea.

And if she was wrong, a _truly embarrassing _idea. Emaline sat on Felicity's bed and looked out the window at the dark sky. She picked up the phone with shaking hands and dialled the number. This was so stupid. The phone kept ringing. She checked the clock once again. 2:37 am.

"_OH MY GOD, do you have ANY idea what time it is?" _the young woman's voice startled Emaline so much she almost dropped the phone.

" I… know it's late… I just… I w-was wondering.. is uhh.." Emaline stuttered out. Yep. She was right. This was a bad idea.

"You have 3 seconds before I hang up."

"_IsOliverThere_" Emaline forced out quickly screwing he eyes up tight and then let out a sigh as she waited for a reply. Silence. _Great, she hung up. _Thought Emaline.

"Give me a minute." the muttered reply came through the line and shocked Emaline.

"Oh. Ya… thank you." Emaline crossed her legs on the bed and fiddled with her hands in the moonlight that filtered through the window. She looked out the window onto the black skyline and the dark streets while waiting for the phone to be passed to Oliver.

"Who is this?" A voice thick with sleep came through the phone.

"It's E-Emaline. I know its super late and you were probably busy, I mean _sleeping,_ it's just…okay I just thought… that maybe…" She was still shaking slightly and could feel her heart pounding in her chest.

"Emaline, _breathe. _What is it?" Oliver's voice came through the phone with more life than before but there was a forced calmness to it as well.

"Is Felicity there? She said she went out earlier a-and never came back. If she is there, totally not judging or anything, in any way, just say the word and we don't ever, _ever, _have to speak about it again. Honestly, like, never."

There was silence on the other end for a moment.

"She's not…" Oliver said slowly.

"Oh." Emaline swallowed that bitter lump in her thoat and forced out a hard breath.

"We will find her. I'll be over soon" With that the line cut out.

It wasn't 10 minutes later that there was a knock at the door. Emaline jumped off the bed and walked quickly to get the door. She pulled it open and found Oliver with a worried look in his eye.

"Jeez, were you waiting around the corneror something?" Emaline said playing off her worry as if it were nothing but after the small laugh fell from her face all that was left was concern and those big brown eyes. She could still feel her heart beating fast and that sick feeling in her stomach. Oliver made his way inside and led Emaline with him. He sat her down on the couch and went to the kitchen to get her some water. When he returned, he put the cup in her hand and watched as the water trembled in the glass. He sat on the coffee table in front of her.

"When did she leave?"

"Around 8. She said she needed to check something… Did you see her at all tonight?"

"No… Don't worry, Em, we'll find her."

"She isn't picking up her phone."

Those were the words that hung in the air around them. They both knew that Felicity _always _answered her phone. Emaline held her hands in her lap and picked at her cuticles until they bled. Oliver reached out a hand and stilled her movements.

"Ok. Ok, I'm going to call John, he'll help." He said and he gave it a squeeze. Oliver hated seeing her like this, he'd been able to pick up the anxiety in her not long after meeting her but it didn't make watching her panic any easier. He could see the strength in her, when she tried to stay calm, when she called him for help. All he could think was '_This is in some way my fault'; _that something had happened to Felicity because of her connection to The Arrow or even Oliver Queen. Felicity was probably hurting and Emaline was panicking and it was his fault and he felt helpless. He walked into the other room so Emaline wouldn't be able to hear very well and dialled John's number. He picked up on the second ring.

"Oliver." The concern was clear in his voice.

"Felicity's missing. I'm at her apartment with Emaline now but she isn't picking up her phone and Emaline hasn't seen her since around 8." Oliver ran a hand through his hair and said in a hushed tone, " Try pinging her phone and if that doesn't work, maybe Lyla could use some of her _work connections." _

"I'm on it." And the line went dead. Oliver walked back into the living room to find Emaline slipping her jacket and boots on.

"What are you doing?'' Oliver asked.

"Getting ready to go out. We aren't gonna find her in here, I've checked." She replied deadplanned.

"Emaline… I think you should stay here. Let me and Diggle find her, we'll call you as soon as we do." Oliver said gently trying to convince her. Who was he kidding. He should have known the result of telling a Smoak to stay put when they could help.

"Is that what you did when your sister went missing?" Emaline challenged but there was no anger or hostility in her voice. She made a valid point. She looked up at him with those big brown eyes but the sadness he had seen earlier was now fully replaced by determination. He recognized that strength in the eyes, it was something he treasured but it took the colour of crystal blue, not chocolaty brown.

Oliver went to argue again but couldn't think of anything to refute that. Instead, he just opened the door and held it for her. Emaline turned on her heels and walked out the door with her brown curly mess of a ponytail bouncing with every step she took. Oliver shut the door and locked it. The fact that he had his own key wasn't lost to Emaline.

When they got outside they got into Oliver's car and drove off. They sat in silence for a few minutes Emaline looking out the window at the moonlit city. She ran through all the places she thought in her mind Felicity might be but nothing really stood out to her.

''Where are we going?'' Emaline asked looking over at Oliver.

"Queen Consolidated, she might be working really late and forgot to call'' He replied.

"Working. At 3 am." Emaline said clearly not convinced. "We should call the Arrow," Emaline added with a chuckle, staring back out the window. ''I'm sure Felicity would love being saved by _her Hero_ again."

That caught Oliver's attention. His brows furrowed and gave Emaline a quick side-glance.

"…What" he asked sceptically.

"You've seen the Robin Hood poster in her living room"

"The Arrow isn't Robin Hood." Oliver said a little too defensively.

"They both are archers, they both 'steal from the rich and give to the poor', and I'm pretty sure they wear the same brand of green tights" Emaline replied with a smirk.

"He doesn't steal. He returns money from the rich to its rightful owners." Oliver gritted out. " and I… don't think they're tights"

"Seem pretty _tight_ to me..." Emaline mumbled, raising her eyebrows. Oliver opened his mouth to reply but thought better of it. He rolled his eyes and tried not to smile.

They pulled into the parking lot at QC and both looked around. The garage was quiet and only a few cars remained, none of which were a red mini.

"I don't see her car." Emaline said, worried present in her voice. Oliver looked over at her and felt a slight pain in his chest at seeing her worry.

"Lets check inside", he said as they both exited the car and walked up to the building. Oliver reluctantly called Palmers' office and thankfully he was still there. He also sent a security guard to unlock the door and lead them up to his office. Oliver heard Emaline mutter something along the lines of ' who needs sleep when there's _coffee' _and breathed a laugh.

"Oliver, Emaline" Palmer greeted when they reached his office. It was subtle, but there was definitely tension in that room. "What can I do for you… at 3 in the morning" he said with a questioning look, but the smile never left his face.

"We were wondering if you had seen Felicity here at any point tonight after 8ish. We can't seem to get in touch with her." Oliver said.

"No, she wasn't in tonight. But I'll help you look for her" he said corner washing over his face and rising from his desk.

"No, I'm sure she's alright and you look busy. I will let you know if we can't find her by tonight." Oliver said with a small, almost genuine smile. Emaline looked back and forth between both men with a slightly puzzled look on her face the whole time. Palmer agreed but still held a concerned look and both Oliver and Emaline headed back to the car. They weren't driving for a minute before Emaline spoke up.

"Ray and Felicity had a thing, didn't they?" with a curious look on her face. This statement shocked Oliver, who immediately became tense.

"How did you…?" he began.

"It doesn't take a genius to see through all your masks, especially after seeing _that _interaction." She replied with a knowing look.

"Only a Smoak, apparently…" Oliver muttered. "They did, but it was brief" he finished feeling the need to emphasis that last part.

"How long were you two together?" Emaline said after a moment.

"Felicity and I have only ever been friends." Emaline looked at him sceptically.

"Why?" she questioned. " And don't say it's because you two don't like one anther." She added sternly.

"Because cause of certain… aspects of our lives, we thought it would be best not to… start a relationship." Oliver side glanced at Emaline who looked like that was the stupidest thing she had ever heard. Fortunately for him his phone rang so they didn't have to finish this conversation. Oliver activated his Bluetooth and answered the call.

"Diggle."

"She's at the club, at least her phone is"

"Alright, thanks" They ended the call and Oliver ran a hand through his hair.

They kept driving and eventually stopped outside Felicity's apartment building.

"What are we doing here?" Emaine asked confused.

"You're going home." Oliver said strongly and watched her face twist into defiance.

"_No._ I told you! I'm not going to sit at home when Felicity is missing! She's my _family. _I have to go"

"Diggle thinks she maybe be at Verdant so I will go and check" Oliver said "I will _not _bring a teenage into a nightclub at 3:30 in the morning" He added when he saw her open her mouth to refute. She snapped her mouth snap, growling in agreement, and left the car without another word. Oliver scrubbed a hand over his face, breathing a sigh and then followed. When he got out, he looked over the hood of the car to find two men staring back at him with Emaline looking terrified and caught between them.


	5. Fight Harder

"Well aren't we lucky" The man to the right of Emaline said mockingly, aggressively throwing an arm around Emalines rigid shoulders and yanking her closer to him. "Daddy's come to _save the day._"

Oliver's hands clenched into fists as he watched Emiline flinched a little at their words, like her body was rejecting them, from over the front hood of the car. He was already fuming. The men looked just older than twenty, dressed all in black with greasy hair and the same dirt bag smirk plastered on their faces as the other scum he took down each night. These two would be the same. He would wipe that smirk off their faces and take them down. Hard. But there was no way he would put Emaline in any more danger than she already was by acting too soon.

"Let. Her. Go." Oliver forced out slowly, through gritted teeth.

"Aw, come on man, we are just having some fun." The man to the left said and laughed humourlessly. Oliver didn't miss how he held on to something hidden in his pocket.

"What do you want?" Oliver felt that fighting instinct that had become such a big part of him, resurface.

"Hand over your wallet and car keys" One of them instructed. A kind of nervous energy vibrated off of them. They were amateurs. But amateurs or not, two jumpy guys with a gun was definitely _not _what he wanted around Emaline.

Oliver pulled out both items from his pockets cautiously, making sure not to give them a reason to startle and lightly threw one to each of the men. As they were momentarily distracted with catching their loot, Oliver jumped and slid over the hood of the car, kicking out one of his legs forcefully and landed it in the centre of the left mans chest.

Oliver heard the crack of the first mans head against the pavement as he spun around and knocked down the left mans hand, who had managed to pull his gun on him. Oliver threw an elbow behind him, hitting the man in the throat causing him to stumble backwards, dropping the gun, and grabbing his throat as he struggled to breathe. He joined his partner, passed out on the hard ground, after Oliver delivered the final knock out blow.

Oliver turned and his eyes fell on the crumpled girl pressed against the wall of the town house building. He saw the red, raw lines on her chest and throat. It looked like she was trying to claw into her chest to grab her heart and stop it from pounding. He heard her racked breaths as she forced air in and out of her body. Her face was as white as a sheet and her lips were pressed into a tight line with gasps escaping every few breaths, in awe of what just happened. She looked over the sight in front of her, those big brown eyes swirling with emotions she tried to fight off. He watched her battle them, trying to shut down but they kept resurfacing, forcing her to recognize all the fear and terror she felt. He slowly approached her with hands held out by his side, not wanting to frighten her even more.

"Emaline."She jolted slightly at the sound of his scratchy voice but her eyes never left the bodies on the ground, face pulled into a small frown, and her hand clutching the fabric of her shirt, right above her heart. He knelt beside her, not touching her. "We have to go inside now… it's alright, you're safe."

"Are they dead?" she said, surprising him with the amount of strength in her voice. It pained him to see that battle of emotions inside her, supressed by her want, or in that moment, likely _need_ to not feel. It was a battle he knew well, but knowing the hurt it caused only made seeing it in her, pain him even more.

"No. They are just knocked out. They will be dealt with and they will _never _be able to hurt you again." He said carefully. She began clawing at her chest with one of her hands again and her breathing became more racked again, fear staring to overwhelm her expression. "We need to go inside now, Emaline"

"I don't think I can stand." Her voice broke at the last word, she clamped a hand over her mouth to muffle the heartbreaking whimper that escaped and a convulsion shook her body. She was loosing her battle.

"Ok, I'm going to take you inside, alright?" she gave a little nod forcing the emotions back again and he slowly picked her up. He didn't waste any time carrying her into the town house. Once inside, he set her on her feet and was about to lead her to her room when she stopped him.

"Just go." She said, looking at the floor. "I just need her right now. So _please _just go and get her back." Meeting his eyes, there was no need to ask who 'she' was. He understood and he saw that she needed her family right now, more than anything he could offer in that moment.

"Ok, I'll be back soon, with Felicity." He said it with confidence and then with one final check that she was alright, he left.

Emaline heard the retreating footsteps like the insufferable rhythm of her heart and the farther away they got, the closer her fears came to overtake her. She fought hard but a strangled cry ripped from her throat and broke the dam holding everything back. She sat down against the back of the couch and succumbed to the panic, letting it reap her of any fragment of safety and comfort she had.


	6. Sleepy Secrets

**IMPORTANT NOTICE: I have rewritten most of the chapters because I wasn't happy with the writing. For those of you who have already read my story you dont need to reread it since the same things happen they are just written differently! But if you wanted to read it I would reaaly appreciate it and would love your feedback! I promise a new chapter will be up soon! **

**Thanks again for all of your support, I couldn't do this without all of you! Enjoy!**

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Felicity gripped the armrests as tightly as she could. She looked into the angry eyes that stared back at her. She felt the weight she had so long ago shook off, settle back onto her shoulders and felt her stomach twist up in knots. His face was warped into a look of disgust, with a scowl that made her feel sick. She refused to believe this was happening. She wouldn't believe it.

A small window popped up on the screen and covered the angry brown eyes that had been staring at her. She snapped out of the trance the photo put her in and read the alert that said someone had entered the foundry. She couldn't muster up enough feeling to worry about who it was because she was still in shock. The hiss of stream pouring from the grates and the rattle of the pipes above her were the only sounds that filled that foundry, but if the last few years had taught her anything it was that silence didn't meant no one was here.

She knew it was Oliver immediately from the slight tingling on the back of her neck and the way her muscles shifted and unlocked, becoming slightly less rigid. Apparently, being a superhero's super genius sidekick meant that you got physic ability that tells you when said superhero is near.

"Hi'' she said in a small voice but didn't turn around, needing a minute to collect herself. Felicity slowly clasped her hands in front of her on the cold metal table in a feeble attempt to cover how they were shaking and drew in a deep breath. She was having an internal battle on whether to pretend to be ok or just say 'screw it' and not even bother with a mask, knowing he will likely just see straight through it. She went for the first option even though the point was probably mute and she was already emotionally drained.

"Hey. Is everything alright?"

Felicity heard his footsteps approaching the desk and felt a comforting hand gently squeeze her shoulder. She swivelled around in the chair and looked up at him.

"Ya. Just a long day." She said and tried to smile despite her still upset stomach and glassy eyes.

"I can see that. Do you know what time it is?" he said with a look.

"Ya, it's, um, only … oh. _Shit. Emaline…!_" Felicity shot to her feet and started throwing all her things into her bag.

"Felicity, it's alright. I was just with her. She's…" he stuttered for a moment realizing he couldn't exactly finish the sentence with _'fine'_. "She's safe at home. She was worried about you and called me."

A young teenage girl calling around in the early hours of the morning because her mother still hadn't come home; that idea struck way too close to home for Felicity and made her even more nauseous. Seriously, she was about to be sick.

"No, that's not the point. I'm suppose to be the responsible one, and here I am at a _club_ at 4 am while she's calling people she hasn't even known for 2 months asking if they know where I am,…"

"Felicity…"

"…not that she doesn't like you or anything, she does and I know you two get along really well, but this is so unfair for her, and I, of _all people,_ should_ know _that…"

"Felicity."

"_God. _She is probably _freaking _out!"

"_Hey." _He said strongly, grabbing both sides of her face so she is forced to look at him. " She is _safe. _We had a run in with a few muggers so she got anxious but asked me to come get you. I called Dig after I left and he is watching the security feed from your building and Lyla had a few Argus agents near by who are also keeping an eye on the place. I also called Lance who has dealt with the muggers." His hands slipped down to her shoulders then arms but she continued to hold his stare.

"You are hardly _clubbing_ right now, Felicity. You lost track of time. It happens. Emaline isn't upset with you, she wants to know your safe." His voice was gentle and soft and contrasted with the huge, open industrial space.

The AC clicked off then and the lair fell into complete silence, the only sound was their breaths. It was the kind of silence that made Felicity extremely aware how close Oliver was. Exhaustion hit her hard and fast; after everything that had just happened in the last few hours she was emotionally and physically drained. She tipped her head back and closed her eyes. With a sigh, she swayed forward until her forehead hit Oliver's chest and she could hear the thumping of his chest. His hands slipped from her upper arms around her back, pulling her into a hug. She took the final step towards him without moving her head from his chest and wrapped her arms around his waist. She let out another sigh against his chest and felt a smile pull at her lips at the tickling feeling of Olivier's breath against her neck. Felicity let herself take in the moment before moving her hands to grab his waist and taking a step back, their eyes meet and mirrored the same look.

"I'm going to take you home." Nervousness hit her like a brick wall and then she immediately felt guilty for feeling that way, but home meant Emaline and Felicity had no idea how she was going to face her after tonight. But Oliver had left no room for argument and, honestly, she had no energy to try to fight it, so she gave a nod with her hands still holding his waist while his gently clasped her arms again. She turned around to grabbed her bag and instead of letting his hands fall away completely, he let one of his hands slip into hers and led her out of the foundry. There were only two cars in the back parking lot, one being hers. They moved over to the second car, a black expensive looking one that Felicity had never seen before.

"You own a car?" she muttered. He gave her a blank look, allowing her brain to catch up with her mouth and realize she had just asked a billionaire if he owned a car.

"If you are not on your bike, then Diggle drives you." She muttered the sleepy justification to her last comment. It was true though, when was the last time Oliver had actually needed to drive a car?

"Do you even own a drivers licence?" she said stopping suddenly and perking up a little, in concern, at the realization that he probably hadn't needed to drive a car himself since before the island. Oliver reached the passengers side, opened the door and turned around to face her.

"I know how to drive a car, Felicity." He said blanky, cleverly avoiding giving an actual answer to the question. She was too tired to care. The man could fly a plane and had super senses, getting in a car with him was hardly the most dangerous thing she had done with him.

She plopped down into the passengers seat and let her eyes fall shut. She heard Oliver Climb into the drivers seat and felt his breath on her neck as he reached over to buckle her seatbelt for her. Her heart absolutely did not flutter.

The next thing she felt was the cool breeze of air gently blowing over her as the passenger side door opened. She turned away from it, trying to hold onto the fleeting warmth. It was only when she heard a soft chuckle did she slowly open her eyes and turn back around. Oliver was leaning down to look at her in the car. Her body was stiff from exhaustion but she slowly made her way out of the car and up to her townhouse, with Oliver following closely behind. She was ignoring the nagging bit of dread in her stomach about who was waiting for her inside. She unlocked her door and made her way inside, instantly hearing a few hurried footsteps from the bedroom.

Emaline suddenly swung out of the bedroom and froze in the hallway, letting out a hard breath. Her lips and rims of her eyes were red, so was her cheeks and the tip of her nose. Even in the dark that colour was so easily seen because of the girls snowy white face that was framed with dark curls. Even with bright eyes of relief, she couldn't cover up the clear signs that she had been crying. Felicity stood there with a pit in her stomach as Emalines eyes rake her body, trying to see if anything was wrong. It hurt seeing her so scared and it hurt more knowing she was the one who caused it. It felt like looking in a mirror from years ago.

"Your alright?" Emaline spoke in a voice that reminded Felicity of the little girl she had left when she was young, those same brown eyes stared at her again now years later.

"Ya. I was at Verdant and lost track of time." Felicity said lamely. Emalines face clouded with confusion.

"You went to a nightclub… in a cardigan?" Her voice was still nowhere near its normal strength but Felicity felt some of the weight shift off of her shoulders at the small trace of humour in her voice.

"Oh. Well…ya. I was working. And it was… cold. But I'm back now. I'm sorry for worrying you, I'll call if I'm ever going to be late again." Felicity took a few slow steps towards her. She stomped down the piece of her that wanted to run. Run from the pain and the past and the uncertainty that future was starting to promise.

But she fought it.

Because she wasn't the same girl from all those years ago, who ran away to MIT. Because she had stood beside Oliver and helped him fight, for years, for his city. Because she saw the fight etched on Emalines face everyday and she wanted the same confidence to not run this time. She was proud of who she was now and, although it terrified her, she was going to stay grounded.

"I think we need to update your clubbing attire" Emaline huffed a laugh, smirking at her sister, and rested her head on the doorframe, obviously sleepy.

"ya. Tomorrow. After like… 20 hours of sleep." Felicity grabbed Emalines shoulders, turned her around and led her into her bedroom. She stopped briefly at the door at looked back out just in time to see Oliver just about to leave. He looked up at caught her eyes. She mouthed a thank you and slipped into the bedroom, ready to sleep.

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**Let me know what you thought! New chapter up soon! **


	7. Smoak and Mirrors

**HEY. I'm back. And so is the story! I finally got all my crap figured out and am determined to finish this story so here is a new chapter! AGAIN IMPORTANT NOTE: I REWROTE MOST OF THE CHAPTERS BECAUSE I WASNT HAPPY WITH THE WRITING STYLE. SO ITS NOT NECESSARY TO REREAD THEM ALL BUT IT MIGHT HELP. **

**Thanks to anyone who will still read this story after about two years :P Let me know what you think!**

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The light of day was fading fast as they got out of the car in front of the apartment building. Blues and pinks bled across the sky like ink in water. The Smoaks each pulled out a large bowl covered in plastic wrap and started towards the building in front of them.

Felicity watched out of the corner of her eye as Emaline struggled with the obscenely large bowl of potato salad in her hands as they both walked up to Dig and Lylas building. Felicity tried her damnedest to control the smile that kept finding its way onto her face. No matter how the brunette seemed to hold the damn thing, she couldn't get a good enough grip.

"OK, so let me get this straight." Emaline said with a frown set into her forehead. "Roy use to date Thea, who is Olivers little sister, but somehow Roy and Oliver are good friends?... And they are close with Diggle, who is Olivers body guard, or ex-bodyguard or some shit…"

"Language" Now it was Felicity's turn to frown. Emaline just rolled her eyes.

"And he's married to his ex-wife Lyla… 'cause _that_ makes sense…" Emaline murmured sarcastically. "…and they have a baby girl named Sara, who is named after one of your friends… who was Olivers ex-girlfriend… and Laurels sister….who is _also_ one of Olivers ex-girlfriends. _Shocker." _More sarcasm. Add an eye roll. "Is that right?" Felicity could almost see they wheels turning in Emalines head as she tried to understand the relationship between team arrow, sans arrow work.

"uh Ya, that about sums it up." Felicity said, shifting her own plate of food.

"Great…. Then who the hell is Sin?" Emaline cocked an eyebrow in question to her sister next to her, frustrated that she couldn't get all the puzzle pieces of Felicitys life to fit. Felicity quietly laughed at the young girls obvious frustration at her lack of understanding of the situation. Guess it was true, not liking mysteries was a family trait.

"Sin is a friend of... Roys, but we kinda adopted her into the family."_ Family. Her family without Emaline._

_Nice going Felicity… _she mentally chastised. She peeked out of the corner of her eye to make sure her sister wasn't hurt by her choice of words and found that she seemed to be intently adjusting the plastic wrap over the ridiculously oversized salad bowl she was carrying. She then ran her hand through her hair.

Red Flag. Crap, Felicity had really started to love the easiness between the two of them recentlyand the lat thing she wanted to do was disrupt it. Three months ago, Emaline walking into Felicitys Starling City life was her worst nightmare but now she couldn't imagine what it would be like now without her sarcastic shadow. The energy that radiated from Emaline was enough to intrigue everyone that met her. She was Las Vagas personified. She was the vibrant, colourful personality and spark of wild fire that carried the lie that there was nothing more to them both than the show they put on. But like the City of Sin, it is all a game of smoke and mirrors. And in the game of smoke and mirrors the truth lies with the shadows. Its only when you pull back the curtain do you realize how corrupt it all is and suddenly the devilishly sweet tastes of mischief that Vagas prides itself on, turn to ash in your mouth. Emaline wore that kind of darkness like a cloak, allowing it to hide the vulnerable girl beneath it. The past few months had allowed Felicity to glimpse under Emalines hood to see the girl it clung to. Despite Felicitys fears she couldn't help falling in love with the girl like she had already done once before. Felicity often found herself smiling as she silently watched Emaline scowling down at her crossword puzzles in the morning or contemplating a strategic move during one of their board game nights. It was ironic how someone who was known to cause trouble, brought her so much peace in her life, even if the circumstances surrounding her terrified Felicity.

They continued into the building and up the elevator, the only sounds were Emalines frustrated grunts and sighs as she readjusted the giant bowl in her arms.

They when they reached the right floor they stepped out and walked to the apartment door. Felicity knocked.

_Bang._

Both women jumped and heard fast approaching footsteps to the door, following the sound that could only be described as something hard hitting something harder. Dread settled in Felicitys stomach as she slowly began to angle her body so she covered Emaline from the door. The cold, dark eyes of the man she had seen in the foundry flashed through her mind and her heart started gaining speed.

The door flew open and Sin stood there with a 'kid on Christmas morning' look in her eyes. Felicity let out a sign of relief and shook her head at the girl.

"This is so cool you have a sister. Holy shit, you could be twins!" Sin said, not bothering with pleasantries. She couldn't hide her amusement as she looked between the Smoak women.

"I'm insulted. I don't look 30." Emaline said deadpanned.

"I'm 28!" Felicity looked at her sister defensively.

"Your 29 in less than a month and I'm rounding up." Emaline shuggred.

Sin snorted a laugh and looked at Felicity with a sly smile. "I like her."

"Yeah I was afraid of that." Felicity looked between the two of them, clearly unimpressed. " Sin, this is Emaline, Emaline this is Sin."

"The friend of Roy's" Emaline said, still trying to piece together Felicitys friend group. Sin suddenly looked confused and went to speak.

"Yup. Yup. The friend of Roys. Is that pie I smell?" Felicity said quickly ushering Emaline into the apartment before Sin had the chance to blow her little white lie.

Inside the apartment, the smell of warm food swirled in the air. Felicity and Emaline walked into the open dining room to see an angered Roy rubbing his foot.

"You could have waited until we put the table _down_ before getting the door, Sin" He gritted out. Sin just shrugged it off and the two went back to their conversation. Oliver walked into the room and his eyes landed on Felicity and Emaline.

"Hi."

"Yoooour Majesty" Oliver rolled his eyes at Emalines quip.

"How are you doing?" He spoke.

Felicity went to speak but before she could get a word out, Emaline spoke.

"Well, I've been holding a ridiculous amount of potato salad so long I think my arms might fall off and I've been trying to figure out who the hell every one is, I swear, there are less complicated groups of friends on those high school TV drama shows…"

"You have no idea" Felicity mumbled.

"but other than that I'm _swell,_ thanks for asking" Emaline said with a glint of humour in her eyes and a touch of mischief in her grin. Oliver rolled his eyes with the hint of a smile on his mouth and turned to felicity.

"I was hoping to speak with your for a minute…" He touched her elbow gently and then his eyes swung to Emaline who was looking up at them, her big brown eyes wide, a sugary sweet smile and the classic Smoak head tilt, obviously wanting to hear whatever Oliver had to say.

"Don't you have detaching limbs to deal with?" Oliver levelled. Emalines innocent routine instantly dropped into a scowl.

"You know, a _true_ gentleman would offer to take this _for_ me." Emaline jabbed.

"I can promise you that is not a word anyone has ever used to describe me. " Oliver countered.

"Reformed playboy, my ass. Probably failed _Etiquette School…_" Emaline mumbled and stalked off. Oliver and Felicity watched her walk away and place the salad bowl on the dining room table. Diggle pulled her into conversation with Lyla and Laurel, who had just entered the room. Felicity watched as Diggle introduced her to Roy and saw Emaline run her fingers through her hair.

"She's nervous." Felicitys eyes never left Emaline, even as she saw Oliver look at her in her peripheral vision. She pushed her glasses up her nose. "The hair. It's her tell."

"You know, the glasses are your tell" Felicity looked at him surprised. Olivers fingers gently followed one of the arms on her glasses behind her ear where he tucked away some hair that had fallen into her face. Felicity didn't move but looked cautiously into his eyes that always seemed to see right through her.

Felicity looked down at the floor and cleared her throat. She raised a hand to adjust her glasses but quickly dropped it. "You wanted to speak to me?"

"I wanted to see how you were doing. You seemed really upset the other day at the club."

"I'm fine."

"Felicity…"

"Oliver, I don't ask you to talk about the island." She said looking into his eyes making sure he knew just how serious she was. "Don't push me on this."

The last light of day slipped under the city skyline and the deep blue smothered the last remaining streaks of gold. The rest of the group started preparing for dinner, laughing and talking unaware of the tension on the other side of the room.

"Emaline isn't your island, Felicity." Concern etched into his forehead. "Whatever has you spooked clearly has something to do with her but… She's just a kid, Felicity." Emalines laugh rang out at something Lyla said from across the room, as she laid plates at every setting. Felicity knew he was right. Emaline had no control over the what had happened, nor did did she have any _idea. _

Laurel broke off from the rest of group and started towards the couple. She was wearing, as usual, a very appropriate pantsuit.

"Oliver. Felicity. I'm glad I caught you alone, I need to talk to you both." She looked over her shoulder to make sure no one else was listening.

"SO glad we are keeping this night light and causal..." Felicity said to herself.

"I met my dad for lunch today, he mentioned something I think you might want to know." She started in a low voice and looking seriously between the two of them. "Something is happening with the Russian Mafia…"

"The Bratva." Oliver stated.

"Good, so you know them, …" Laurel confirmed.

Felicity snorted.

"_Knows _them? The man speaks fluent _Russian_, which, by the way, is _hard_ to learn on a deserted island in China. That and he has that tattoo on his chest which I _definitely_ know you have seen since you know… you two…"

"Felicity."

"Yup, I'm done. Sorry."

Laurel looked wide eyed between the two, clearly not yet used to the Smoaks ramblings.

"Right… well anyways, something has them rattled. That's all I know. Thought you should know in case you wanted to look into it." Oliver nodded with a small frown.

"Come on, lets go help the others get ready for dinner, we will deal with this later." Felicity said motioning towards their friends who were setting cutlery, napkins and drinks. Felicity took a step towards the table when Laurel grabbed her arm holding her back.

"Actually, there is one more thing I need to tell you, Felicity." Felicity turned to Oliver who had stopped making his way to the table as well and was looking at Felicity. She gave him a nod to tell him to go and turned back to Laurel as he walked away.

"My dad mentioned you were asking about your mom. About when you could contact her. He called the clinic she is supposed to be at… and she wasn't there."

Cold swept through Felicity.

"What do you mean she's not there? That's impossible." Felicity knew it wasn't but the idea that she hadn't know where her mother was for the past two months had fear flooding her at full force.

"She _is_ at a rehab clinic, that we know for sure, but which one is apparently classified. Not even my dad could find out." Laurels watched the other woman with concern as she processed what she had just been told. She reached forward and rubbed one of Felicitys arms.

"Look, we both know you can find her in five minutes with a computer, right? I don't want this worrying you for the rest of the night but I thought I should tell you as soon as I could."

"No, I appreciate it thank you." Felicity said, her mind still reeling.

"Come on, let's go have dinner. Lets go be with friends right now." Felicity nodded and followed Laurel into the dining room and started helping pull the plastic wrapping off dishes on the table.

Laurel was right. If Donna was at a rehab center, there would be electronic files and Felicity would be able to find them within minutes. But that didn't stop the nagging voice at the back of her mind. Why was her location classified? How could Felicity not have known where her mother was? Thoughts ran through her head as she placed a cup at every setting. Everyone moved around her laughing, talking as they worked. Sin grabbed a baby carrot from one of the salads and Roy continued talking with her. Diggle was holding Sara as she gurgled happily. Felicity worked quietly, while nagging questions bugged her like an itch. It was like putting together a puzzle with missing and odd pieces. No matter how hard she tried, she couldn't get the pieces to fit or figure out what the big picture was.

"Is that your natural hair colour?" Oliver whispered in her ear, his eyes darting between Emaline and Felicity. Felicity saw him trying to hide a smile. She shot him an unimpressed look.

"Remember I still keep your secret." She said pointing a finger at him,

"So Emaline, do you have any fun stories to tell about Felicity?" Roy asked.

Well _that_ snapped Felicity out of her funk.

Oliver took a seat next to Felicity and everyone started serving up the food laid out in front of them. Emaline looked up at Roy across the table and then slowly slid her gaze to Felicity, her grin spreading as she did. She opened her mouth to speak.

" NO, you don't. She-she doesn't" Felicity shook her head franticly at Emaline and then around the table at the amused faces. No way were they discussing embarrassing stories from her past.

"Ask her who was Miss Vagas Sweetheart 1992." Emaline fake whispered to Roy and took a sip of water obviously avoiding a fuming Felicitys death glare.

Well, looks like her sister decided to shoot _that_ horse in the face.

Sin and Roy barked out laughing, Diggle almost choked on his food, Lyla and Laurel were trying their best not to laugh and Oliver, well even Oliver's well school face shows signs of laughter.

"_In my defense,_ I was _five _and I didn't exactly have a _choice_ in the matter." Felicity stated, feeling that that _definitely _needed to be on the record.

"Please tell me there are pictures." Diggle asked.

" Oh yeah. It's still hanging on our wall along with her sash." Emaline added.

"This makes me so happy. I bet there are pictures online" Roy said, whipping out his smartphone.

"HA. Those came down the second I learned my way around the Internet." Felicity assured. "Remember I don't need to use my fists to make you suffer, Harper, all I need is five minutes and a laptop. Put the phone down."

When she turned her death glare in his direction he conceded by putting his phone away in his pocket and raised his hands in mock surrender. Felicity caught Oliver still looking at her trying to hide his smile, which was a shame because the man had a beautiful smile but not in this particular instant because this. Was. Not. Funny.

"You. You I will hurt physically." Felicity said pointing a finger at him. Woah, when did their faces get so close? " Stop looking at me like that."

"Pageant Queen?"

"Pain, Queen. _Pain_." She shoved his shoulder playfully and with that the conversation moved on around them.

"Lyla." Felicity turned to her friend at the head of the table. "Oh so much more wine, please."

Lyla threw her head back and laughed and filled Felicitys glass again.

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**Thanks for reading! I'll post again as soon as I can. Also I THRIVE off of reviews so let me know what you thought!**


	8. Borrowed Time

**Hi Guys! here is another chapter! Sorry about any mistakes I might have made, I correct my own work and am dyslexic so it makes it kinda tough! thanks for all of you who followed favourited and reviewed! It means a lot to me! Keep it up! **

**Also I know there are A LOT of unanswered questions in my story and I PROMISE they will be answered in the next few chapters!**

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The street lamps gave the roads a yellow spotted glow on the drive home. Felicity looked over at Emaline. Her head was resting against the window and she stared up at the sky. She looked relaxed. Felicity couldn't help releasing a sigh of relief at the sight. The radio was singing a quiet tune.

The dinner party had finished late and, despite a few dirty secrets coming up, it seemed everyone had a good time. The fear she used to feel at the idea of her past and present colliding no longer had her gripped with fear. She noticed as she watched Emaline laughing and talking with her team. It was a strange kind of beautiful watching them together. But Felicity was far too smart to ignore the danger lurking in the darkness. She knew her lies were living on borrowed time.

Emaline rolled her head off the window and started scanning the channels on the radio.

"…kiss me, like you want to be loved, like you want to be loved-"

"…Stay with me, 'cause you're all I need, This ain't lo-"

"traffic is slow mov-"

"-Work, work, work, You can work from hom-"

"…for the weekly Hood Count!" Emaline sat back and started looking out the window again. Felicity shifted uncomfortably in her seat and glanced at Emaline out of the corner of her eye. Of all the stations to choose from, Emaline had chosen the one talking about all the hoods arrests that week. There was no way that meant anything, right? It was a complete coincidence that Ema chose a station talking about the hood, right?

" The Hood has been busy this week, ladies and gentleman! The man has helped with 16 arrests this week including 4 muggers around the downtown core, the 2 bank robbers that were responsible for the hold up at First National bank on Tuesday, and exposed a money laundering scandal at the tech company Quardon Technol-"

Felicity jammed a finger down on a random button on the radio, switching the channel to some pop song she couldn't care to place.

"Okay, We don't need to-, you know, uh, I think we're-, yeah, good."

Felicity pushed her glasses up her nose and stared intently ahead. Suddenly, the dark, quiet night didn't seem so peaceful, but rather suffocating. The danger of the lonely streets seemed the seep into her quickly. Felicity side glanced Emaline and saw she still had her head rested against the window, looking out. She looked again, turning her head this time, and locked eyes with Emalines reflection in the window.

Emaline wasn't staring into the night. She was staring at Felicity. Watching her.

Fear gripped Felicitys heart and she went back to staring at the road. This was bad, this was very bad. No, no this might be nothing, maybe she was overreacting. Maybe this was nothing. Felicity took a breath, and thought logically about the situation. There was no reason to believe Emaline knew anything about The Arrow, just because she had changed the radio station. It was probably nothing. Still, Felicity couldn't help thinking about all her lies living on borrowed time. She knew the timer was running down and she started to consider the chaos that might erupt when that time finally ran out. It felt like that time might be coming sooner than she expected.

Xxxxxxxxxxxx

Felicity was staring at her computer screens when she heard Olivers footsteps coming down the foundry stairs. She was going through every single rehab center in Nevada trying to find her mother. So far, no such luck.

"Laurel was right."

"mm-hm. About what?" Felicity said never taking her eyes off her screen.

"The Bratva. They're pissed. Apparently, some new people have come to town and the Bratva feel threatened." Oliver continued, pacing behind her.

"Great, so this is the start of some turf war?" Diggle asked.

"WOAH. When did you get here?" Felicity finally looked away from her computers and to John who was standing only feet from her. He did not look thrilled.

"Felicity, I came in 45 minutes ago. You said 'hi' to me."

"oh… right sorry, you know, distracted, sorry. Continue. " Felicity stammered now facing both men. Oliver was standing in his arrow suit, bow in hand, in the middle of the foundry. Diggle was in his customary black tshirt and jeans leaning against a desk. He rolled his eyes.

"It's not a turf war. It's a Man hunt." Oliver said shifting his weight between his feet, clearly uncomfortable. "The Kings came here looking for someone named Romanov. They are asking a lot of questions and not in a friendly way. No one knows why. Now it's a race to find him and see what he knows."

"The Kings? You're s-sure it's the Kings." Felicity felt the color drain from her face. It was happening. No more borrowed time.

"Yeah that's what I heard. Why? You know them?" Oliver questioned, looking at Felicity confused.

"I, um, yeah, grew up with them. They are from Vegas." Felicity wrung her hands in her lap, staring at them. "They run the city. Anything from drugs, girls, even the casinos. They run the whole show."

"Yeah, well, Diggle lets go see if we can find Romanov and ask why he's starting a mob war." Oliver said already striding towards the stairs. He was gone barely a second later and Diggle followed behind him, leaving Felicity white faced and heart racing.

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Hood up, head down.

The figure walked quickly down the dark streets, past few people, People who barely noticed the small, hooded figure.

Just keep your head down.

A couple was walking down the street. They were dressed nice. Probably for a date night. They probably left their kids with a sitter at their mid-sized house in a good neighborhood and went out for dinner. The wife laughed and took her husbands' arm. They seemed happy, normal. Not a good mark. They walked past the black figure without giving a second glance.

Next up was a group of guys. They were goofing off. Drunk. Probably just came from a party. Slurs and swears spewed from their mouths. They were yelling into the night. A perfect mark. The little black figure kept walking but pulled a hand out from the pocket of the hoodie. The men were getting closer. Sticking to the shadows of the walls to the right, the drunken guy never noticed a small hand slip into his coat pocket and take out his wallet.

The hand with the wallet went back into the pocket and the figure kept walking. The loud rambling of the men became quieter. The figure kept the hood low as it turned and watched the men turn a corner out of sight.

The next second there was a sharp tug on one arm and the little hooded figure was dragged into an alleyway and pushed up against the wall. Struggling against the person, the figure kicked and clawed. Suddenly her hood was ripped back and the girl was staring a much larger green hood. The Arrow looked down at those fierce brown eyes and took a shocked step back.

"I _knew _it!" Emaline said pointing a finger in his face. Oliver just stood there dumbfounded. He had blown his own cover. There was no mistaking that. He clicked off something in his ear.

"Stealing isn't nice" Oliver said through a voice modulator. Emaline raised an eye brow. Seriously? he was just going to try and play this off. Not a chance.

"Cut the crap Oliver I know its you. I saw you recognize me." Emaline leaned back against the brick alley wall and crossed her arms. "I've been on to you for weeks."

Oliver turned the modulator off.

"How?" he still stood stiff and tall, bow gripped tightly in hand. It was a funny sight. The feared, bad ass Vigilante clearly uncomfortable with a young teenage girl. He kept shifting his weight.

"The car jackers you stopped. They showed up on channel 5's weekly 'Hood Count' the segment that lists all the Hoods arrests that week. I've been listening to it ever since and then there was Felicitys reaction in the car which was a dead give away. About a week ago I started coming out to places you normally hit and seeing what would happen. I knew if it was you, I could recognize you and I was ri-"

"Okay that's enough." Oliver started rubbing one of his temples with the hand that wasn't on his bow. Emaline just smirked and huffed a laugh, looking pretty pleased with herself.

"Okay so now what?" Emaline asked. Oliver looked back at her sternly.

"Now? Now, you get to tell Felicity that you've been pick pocketing people in the Glades late at night."

"What? No." Emaline said, suddenly not looking so pleased and coming off the wall. "I think something like that would be better coming from you, you know? I can go grab some coffees. Lattes anyone? My treat!"

"Nice try. You are going to put your hood back up and walk directly to Verdant Night club. No scenic routes or side streets, got it? Then you are going to go around back and go through the back door using the code 354793 and head to the basement. Are we clear?"

"Is that your lair?" Emaline said smirking once again.

"Emaline." Oliver said in warning. Emaline rolled her eyes.

"Si, comprendo El Capitan." Emaline gave an exaggerated salute and strode towards the mouth of the alleyway. She was almost around the corner when a sharp tug on the hood of her sweater and pulled her back.

"Gaa! Geez, what?" Emaline said readjusting her hoodie. Oliver let go of the hood.

"Wallet." Oliver said with a deadpanned expression and held out his hand. The man needed to loosen up. He was way to serious.

"I thought you said it was nice to ste-" Emaline quipped but was cut off by Oliver.

"You know what I mean." Oliver said, clearly not impressed.

"Fine." Emaline slapped four wallets that were clearly not hers into Oliver's palm. Oliver's mouth gaped as he looked between the wallets and the girl. A slow grin appeared on her face. He growled. Emaline thought it was kind of funny.

"Go. Straight there. No detours. I'll know."

She slipped under her hood and left the alley with one last glance at the grumpy vigilante. She didn't try that hard to hide the smile on her face.

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**Thanks again for reading and reviewing! Your feedback means the world to me!**


	9. House of Falling Cards

**Does anyone actually read this?**

**Back again! I think I'm getting the hang of this update thing. I wrote this chapter with NRDHRD3 in mind. You said you wanted more babbling Felicity and I totally agree so this one is for you! If there are any elements you want me to include in my story I'd LOVE to here all your suggestions! **

**As always your reviews inflate my probably overinflated ego so please do keep them coming! Thanks also for all the favourites and follows as well! I couldn't do it without you all. **

**(Any mistakes are all mine, I suck at editing)**

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Felicity sat at her desk in the arrow cave, staring at the stupid empty map that was pulled up on one of her computers. Her leg was bouncing up and down and she couldn't help chewing on her thumbnail. It had been 6 minutes since Oliver's com had cut out. He had informed them he was going after a suspect in the Glades and then after Felicity heard a small struggle through the coms, he had gone dark. The man had fallen off the face of the earth. Okay, not actually but he had disappeared from the map Felicity used to track him. Her mind was now having a lively debate about what exactly should be done about it. Diggle was pacing behind her, all geared up ready to leave at a moments notice if need be. Felicity could feel her persistent heart punching against her chest. This was unbearable.

"Okay, lets give him two more minutes and then you can go look for him." Felicity decided out loud. Diggle grunted in an affirmative response.

"Is that too rash though? That makes me sound like a crazy clingy girlfriend, right? Not that I'm his girlfriend or anything, I know, but maybe it will take more than two minutes to get back here or to turn his stupid com back on." Diggle didn't respond that time. He probably realized what was coming; 'Word Vomit: Starring Felicity Smoak'.

Yeah, there wasn't much that could stop that shit show.

"I want to say 5 minutes but think about everything that could happen in _five minutes. _ Actually, we shouldn't think about that. Don't think about that. It will only make this worse. Oh my god, I'm thinking about it…" Felicity's eyes still bore into the blank streets as if she could make Oliver's little red dot appear if she stared at the map hard enough.

"I feel like 3 minutes is ridiculous because then it would have been 9 minutes and that's just a gross number right? Who wait for anything for nine minutes? Ten. Ten is good. It's a nice round number. So that means four-okay now three- minutes. We can wait three minutes." Felicity nodded to herself, not loosing eye contact with the stupid empty map where Oliver had last been.

"Whatever you say, Felicity." Diggle agreed absentmindedly.

"This is serious, John." Felicity shot him an angry look and then went back to glaring at the empty map.

"Debating the exact number of minutes until we go and find Oliver? That's serious? He'll be all right. There was probably something wrong with the com…"

"I check the coms every night before you guys leave so this kind of situation doesn't happen!"

"Well technology isn't always reliable…" Felicity gasped at him.

"Oh my god, what are we doing? Ten minutes is _way _too long. He could be half way to Kentucky by n-" The door opened. "Oh, thank _God." _Felicity swung her chair around dramatically.

"Aw, thanks Fel. I missed you too." Felicity felt her jaw go slack as she watched Emaline bounce down the stair of the lair. For a second, she actually believed that she was hallucinating until she realized Diggle was seeing her too. Emaline reached the bottom of the stairs and propped an elbow on the railing, then smiled sweetly over at them. Felicity looked at Diggle.

"Oh, I'm dreaming." Felicity said, naturally. "I'm dreaming?"

She looked at Diggle for confirmation. He just shrugged. Thanks buddy, big help.

The door opened again and Oliver came through. That effectively snapped Felicity out of gaping at her sister. Suddenly, all that confusion and anxiety bled into annoyance and impatience. What the hell was happening? She was fed up of being utterly clueless with what was going on right now.

"Oh, had a nice, leisurely stroll, Oliver?" Felicity knew she sounded judgmental but she couldn't care less. She wanted answers. Stat. Oliver looked at her, confused, and then to at Diggle for help, who just shook his head slowly and crossed his arms.

"Can someone please tell me why my 14 year old is down here?" Felicity said verging on her 'loud voice' and throwing her hands up.

Oliver gave Emaline a pointed look and motioned her forward. Emaline visibly shrunk under Olivers glare and her confident smile slipped. Even in this crazy situation, Felicity couldn't help her heart flutter a little at the sight of Oliver knowing exactly how to handle Emaline, because, Lord knows, that girl is a handful. Emaline stepped forward and cleared her throat.

"Okay well, I think I should start by pointing out that I was right, and you all lied so…" Emaline shrugged. Oliver scowled at her and crossed his arms. Felicity watched Emaline square her shoulder and shoot him a fierce look of her own. She took a deep breath and continued, slowly.

" Fine. I had a highly probable and functioning theory that was backed up with a substantial amount of evident I might have collected without your knowledge, which I have been testing, for about a week now, by creating a scenario that I understood would attract the attention of a certain individual, who I hoped would then interfere, which he did, and unknowingly expose his secret to me, which he, again, _did_, thus providing my theory."

Emaline had her hands clasped in front of her rocked back and forth on her heels as Felicity stared at her with her mouth agape, in total disbelief. She looked at Diggle, who looked as confused as she felt, and then at Oliver for clarity. Oliver shifted his weight.

"She was pick-pocketing people in the Glades so I would stop her."

"In pursuit of the truth!" Emaline interjected.

"Thats enough." His face was deadpanned.

Felicity heard a gasp. Oh wait, that was her. Her eyes darted between Oliver and Emaline, just waiting for one of them to yell 'psych'. It never came.

"How do you even know how to pick-pocket? NO. That's not my first question." Felicity rose from her seat and started walking towards Emaline, pointing a finger at her.

"Do you understand the danger you put yourself in? Had it not been Oliver, you could have been seriously hurt! Or _arrested_?" She was now standing directly in front of the young Smoak, whose head hung slightly from the scolding but Felicity could see her eyes still carried a defiant spark.

"Oh yeah, because that card counting trick _you _picked up at the casino was _totally _legal. You can't stop me." Emaline bit out, defiantly but still avoided eye contact. Felicitys rage was sparked again.

"_Yes_ I can because I am your-"

"_Guardian?_" Emalines eyes snapped to Felicitys who nearly stepped back in surprise because of the ferocity she saw there. Both stared into the others eyes intensely. Blue into Brown. The foundry was suddenly so quiet without Felicitys loud voice filling it. She became aware of Diggle and Olivers presence in the room and felt their stares as she struggled to speak words to answer Emaline.

"_Yes." _Was all she could manage. Emaline snarled at answer and walked off toward Felicitys empty chair. The shock of Emalines reaction muted some of the anger Felicity felt. What the hell was that about? She refused to read further into it, afraid where it might take her.

_There is no way. There is no way. _She kept repeating it in her head. This, everything, was getting to be too much. She could feel her self drowning in all the secrets, her head slowing slipping under the water, always struggling for her next breath. What was it about her that attracted secrets and deceit? Maybe she is just used to it, it's become a habit, hiding pieces of herself. Felicity had always liked to think that she was an honest and open person but in truth, she was just lying to herself. She hasn't been honest with anyone since she was 14 years old. Felicity pushed her glasses up her nose. A hand gently grabbed her shoulder and she jumped at the unexpected contact. She looked up to find Oliver now only a foot from her looking at her with masked concern.

"Felicity? Diggs going to take Emaline home and stay with her." Felicity realized that the conversation had continued around her even as she battled her thoughts. She turned around to face the rest of the foundry and found Diggle standing next to Emaline who was sitting in Felicitys chair. Felicity looked at the brunette who was watching her from beneath her lashes. She looked over her face, and it overwhelmed her yet again just how much of herself see saw there. Skin, mouth, nose. Everything but those chocolate eyes. Felicity still found herself overpowered by that realization. She nodded.

Emaline got up from her seat and walked towards the stairs, her face a cold expression and Diggle a few paces behind her. Felicity watched them as they passed her and Oliver. Wow, the foundry was eerily quiet. They were half way up the stairs when Emaline stopped and faced Felicity.

"We are not done talking about this." She didn't pose it as a question but Felicity heard the inquisition in her voice.

"Oh, believe me, we will be talking about this some more." She looked her right in the eye. Emalines hard eyes seemed to soften and she nodded just once before continuing up the stairs. When the door clicked shut behind both of them, Felicity let out a sign she didn't realize she was holding. She closed her eyes and let her head slump forward.

"I'm sorry… I figured it be better if you found out she knew in person rather than over the com." Olivers words washed over her as she relished in the simple darkness her closed eyes brought her.

"Oliver? That little com in your ear is the only thing that keeps me from going crazy every time you walk out that door." She opened her eyes and looked up at him now.

"I mean, I'm nervous, of course, but hearing your voice in my ear and seeing your red dot on that screen lets me hold on to my marbles, which you know, I would kind of like to do considering there is probably a concerningly low amount left. And if you do that again I'll kick your ass" She took a step closer so she was practically nose to nose with him and scowled into those Baby Blues as a rare genuine smile spread across his face. She just continued to stare up at him and pointing her finger in his face.

"Ah! I know what your thinking. You're thinking 'there is no way' but I'll have you know that I can kick the crap out of your credit score and set TSA on your ass the next time you walk into an airport." He was full out grinning now. Felicity couldn't find it in her to call him out on it because it was so beautiful.

"Felicity?" He said still grinning and standing nose to nose with her.

"Yes?"

"I will not to turn my com off anymore. I promise." His grin faded until he was just staring into Felicitys eyes so all she could see was just how genuine he was.

"Thank you… Now go save the world or something." She took a step back putting an appropriate amount of distance between them. Felicity jumped a little when Olivers leather gloved hands grabbed each side of her head and pulled her closer. Heart beating wildly, she stared at the place she knew his heart was buried beneath scarred skin and green leather as he pressed a kiss to her forehead. She continued staring even as he moved away and towards the door. Just before the stairs, he froze and turned back around.

" My offer still stands. If you ever need to tell someone about your day… you can tell me." And before she could respond he was bounding up the stairs two at a time and out the door. Felicity felt her heart warm at his words.

Okay, so maybe tonight wasn't so terrible.

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	10. Truth Laid Bare

I'm back! Thanks to ARTEMISDK for giving me the push I needed to get my ass in gear and write this chapter. Here is a nice LOOOOng chapter for you all. Also Thanks to everyone else who has stuck by me through this story. Your support means everything. As always if you guys have anything you want me to try, let me know and I'd be happy to try!

Let me know what you think :)

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Oliver casually twirled his bow around himself, needing to release some of the pent up energy that festered inside him as he made his way towards the back entrance of Verdant. Tonight was the same as every other night he'd patrolled this week; he looked for the Russian named 'Romanov' who The Kings were seething to find and The Bratva seemed to know nothing about but couldn't find anything other than bloodthirsty thugs. Starling city was starting a mob war over a ghost.

No matter how hard he fought to he couldn't seem to keep the bodies from being left on the streets, beaten to a pulp or the creeping fear in civilians who couldn't understand the recent violence in their neighbourhood.

This was his city. The city where his family were once royalty. The city he was born in. He had grown up in this city and it had helped shape him into the obnoxious pick he once was. This was also the city that he was deprived of for 5 years. The city his father admitted to corrupting and begged Oliver to fix, right before he shot himself in the head in front of his only son. Oliver had struggled to return to this city and had spent the last few years trying to save it.

He would he damned if he'd let a bunch of idiots with guns stop him from honouring his fathers final wish.

He punched in the key code to the foundry a little too hard and jerked the door open once it granted him access. Trying to take a deep breath to exhale some of his frustration, Oliver started walking down the stairs. He sensed something using what he knew Felicity would call his "spidey-senses" and ran his eyes over the room when they landed on familiar curly brown hair spilling over the side of the medical bay. Emaline lay on the metal slab with an arrow protruding from her chest.

Everything happened within two seconds.

His heart stopped and then started beating a million times an second. A ragged "NO" was torn from his throat as he leaped over the railing of the stairs to get to the little girl. Emotion flooded his body more than it should have for someone he had only known existed for a few months. But this wasn't anyone. This was Emaline. Felicity's Emaline. He would never be able to bare the heartbreak she would feel if she lost her spunky sister. This couldn't happen to her. He had just reached her when…

She started laughing. Hysterically.

Her eyes popped open, full of laughter, and looked up at him. He stared at her, his mouth ajar and heart still pounding trying to process what was happening. Emaline just rolled around laughing and the arrow fell from where it was wedged between her arm and her side. Her lively laughter filling the room and echoing from the walls contrasted so much from the place that only ever dealt with death and destruction. Oliver gripped the med bay with both hands and let his head fall to his chest finally letting his breathing steady, his heart slow and his head catch up to the current situation. When he looked up, Emaline was sitting up, leaning back on her hands on the table, still laughing.

"That wasn't funny." He said breathily, still trying to get control over the shock of this girl 'dead' on the med bay.

"It was a lil' bit funny." She cocked her head to the side and looked up at him with those warm chocolaty eyes, still chuckling a bit.

He looked at how much life swam in her dark eyes and it helped to settle his panicked heart. Never had he seen her face lit up so brightly. Usually it was a smug smile and a chuckle but now her whole self lit up the grey steel basement. She had a glaze of innocent childish mischief in her expression that he remembered having when he was young and liked to play pranks. He let her laugh and be light knowing how rare these moments are for someone had just emerged from darkness. Oliver knew enough to know that Emaline had grown up surrounded by drugs and guns. He saw how it affected her from how she jumped at any touch and any loud noise. So, for now, he would give her this moment where she could be at ease.

"What are you doing here?" He said a little more shrill than he would have liked to sound. Emaline shrugged with her arms and looked at him with wide eyes and raised eyebrows.

"I got bored!" She said like it was the most obvious thing ever.

Grabbing both her legs, Oliver swung them over so they were dangling off the side of the table and sat next to her, needing to sit down for a minute.

"_Never _do that again." He said firmly.

Emaline just smiled to herself and pulled the plastic wrapper of a lollipop she had pulled from her sweater pocket.

"Yeah, for a second there I thought you might croak." She snorted.

Oliver snapped his head to look at her and whipped the sucker out of her hand, putting it in his mouth before she had a second to protest. She scowled at him.

"Mine now, Emmy-girl" he said with a sly smile of his own.

Emaline looked a bit shocked for a moment and then pulled another lollipop out of her sweater pocket, opened it and popped it in her mouth.

"That's what Felicity used to call me." She said eyes roaming around the unusual room. It surprised him how comfortable she seemed in a room full of weapons and dark secrets but he supposed it shouldn't. She had basically grown up in the background of the casino where Donna worked and sold drugs. That was were she had learned to pickpocket and whatever other illegal hobbies he really didn't want to know about.

"Oh yeah? What did you call her?" Oliver asked casually, focusing on the purple lollipop in his hand. He couldn't remember the last time he had one of these generic sugar lollipops but he really like it.

"I don't remember. I have this weird memory of Donna telling me I had to call Felicity by her real name and I didn't get why but neither of them would tell me what I used to call her. I think it's my first memory." Emaline just shrugged.

"You call Donna by her first name?" Oliver thought that was strange but Emaline again just shrugged like it wasn't a big deal. She picked up the forgotten arrow that lay between them and started spinning it around her fingers. Oliver snatched it out of her hands and put it out on the other side of him where she couldn't reach before she accidentally stabbed herself. Or him.

"I have another question for you. Think you can keep a secret from Felicity?"

"I keep lots of secrets from Felicity." Emaline answered easily, then she stiffened as if realizing what she'd just said. "I mean… yes?"

Oliver couldn't help but smile at the 'word vomit' that reminded him so much of Felicity. He continued on by pointing at the dark mass of curls on her head.

"Is that Felicity's natural hair colour?"

A big grin spread across Emalines face.

"Yeah, but DON'T tell her I told you or she'll kill us both." She said turning to him and looking at him seriously.

"You got it, Emmy-girl. I promise I won't." Oliver smiled, ruffled her hair and she grimaced. He got off the table and threw his lollipop stick in the bin. He walked over to the glass display case where his arrow suit was kept and picked it up to go get changed.

When he had returned, Emaline was still sitting on the med bay with an orange lollipop sticking out her mouth but next to her was Diggle. He gave the man a nod in greeting. When Emaline saw him she looked confused.

"Hey Ollie? How come you get to ride around on a kick-ass Ducati and Dig has to drive the pedo' van?"

The question stopped Oliver in his tracks and had him gaping at Emaline, who looked as innocent as ever. Diggle turned around looking at Oliver like he definitely wanted to hear the answer to that question. He had never realized that team arrows van looked like a stereotypical pedophile van but of course Emaline would be the one to point it out.

"It's… Functional." He weakly defended. Emaline snorted.

"For what? Kidnapping children?"

Oliver scowled at her and went to pick up his bow. He made eye contact with Diggle and nodded towards the door letting him know they would leave in a minute so the other man started collecting his things. Oliver made his way back over to Emaline. She was fiddling with a scalpel that she'd taken from the tray of tools next to the med bay. He whipped it out of her hands and put it back. She rolled her eyes. Seriously, what was it with this kid and sharp objects? Honestly, he wished he could wrap her in bubble wrap sometimes. He gripped the med bay on either side of her legs and stared at her seriously on eye level. The feisty thing mocked his serious stare by scrunching up her nose and eyebrows while her lollipop stick still stuck out of her mouth.

"Is there any point of telling you you're not allowed to be here and that you have to go home?"

"Nope."

Oliver huffed a sign. Seriously? The man had survived 5 years in Hell and a teenager was testing him.

"NO touching with the weapons."

"No, sir."

"NO touching the medical supplies OR equipment." He pointed at the damn scalpel.

"No, sir."

"NO going near any of Felicitys computers."

"Pffft… as if."

"…Don't do anything…dangerous. Okay?"

Oliver side glanced Dig, who stood a few feet away, to see if the one of them who actually had a kid had anything to add. The man just smirked and didn't say anything.

"Felicity will be here soon so just stay out of trouble until then, okay?"

"Yeah, yeah, yeah." Emaline was no longer looking at him.

He whipped the lollipop out of her mouth and held it just out of reach.

"HEY!"

"Promise me."

"Okay, _geez_, I promise."

Oliver put the sucker back in her mouth. He started walking towards the door and put his hood up and mask on.

"That area is padded. Stay over there." He said over his shoulder pointing towards the training area with mats. He took the steps two at a time and heard a snort just as he was exiting the door into the dark night.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

Felicity prided herself on many things in her life. Her ability to keep a secret, to rock the hell out of her panda bear flats, and to find anything that has ever been posted on the internet were just a few of the things she was always confident about. So as Felicity sat down in her chair, in the grey, dank basement of a nightclub she let her all-too-well-known stubbornness rear its ugly head. That's right, she was going to let that demon out if it helped her find her mother.

She had been trying to find her mother for a week now. She would run programs on the side during her office hours and sometimes when she was down here when Oliver was out but with no results. Felicity liked to think of herself as a patient person… Okay, well that was a lie; she hated waiting for things especially answers to question involving her loved ones. It had been months since Emaline had shown up in her office with a backpack and a police escort, and it was time to figure out what had happened in Vegas, and where the hell her mother was. Tonight, she was going to get answers. Tonight, she would talk to her mother.

So she pulled her chair into her desk, took a deep breath and went to work. This was no longer a program she was running on the side, she threw her entire focus into it. Everything else would have to wait, she knew Oliver was patrolling and had Dig for back up and her work from Queen Consolidated wasn't important right now. Focusing on the areas her programs hadn't searched like the police records and other government areas, Felicity hacked up a storm. Her fingers raced across the keyboards and her eyes darted across the screens.

That's when she found it.

A barely there paper trail connecting a portion of the government to a small rehabilitation centre in Ohio. The woman who was listed as "Rebecca Green" was her mothers age and was admitted only a few days after Emaline showed up. She huffed a sigh and slowed her furious pace. Opening up the website for the centre Felicity scrolled down to find a contact number. Numbly pulling out one of the secure phones in the lair, she dialled the number and let it ring. This was the moment of truth. A receptionist answered and Felicity asked to speak with a 'Becca Green'. Anticipation and nerves sat heavy on Felicitys shoulders as the receptionist transferred the call. She felt the start of a headache coming on. Head in one hand and the other pressing her phone to her ear, she waited for what seemed like hours.

Then the line clicked and she heard movement on the other end.

"Mom?"

"Oh baby it's so good to hear your voice!"

Relief doused some of the raw irritation of all the unanswered questions that surrounded Felicity. She might be mad at her mother for falling back into drugs and for forcing Emaline to grow up the same way she had; absentee mother, basically living at the casino, being forced to watch Donna fall deeper and deeper down the rabbit hole but it helped her breath easy hearing that her mother was alright.

"Yeah, it's good to hear you too..." Felicity rubbed her throbbing temple battling to keep all the things inside she'd been dying to scream at her mother ever since Emaline came to Starling. "Mom, are you alright?''

"Yeah, hun, I'm doing fine over here. The place is really nice and I'm doing good…" She heard her mother take a deep breath and Felicity was trying not to snap, knowing what was coming next. "Now, baby I know you're probably upset-"

"Upset? I am way past _upset_, mom." Her anger felt like an elastic band and it was pulled to the max. "How could you do this? How could you _risk everything? _You put her _life _at _risk_…"

"I know, baby, I know but…" Her elastic anger snapped.

"…All so you could hang out with your old dope buddies and get a bit of extra cash. You know, _you_ _know,_ what could have happened! What _will_ happen to her if _anyone _finds out!"

"Baby… they already know." Donnas whispered words dripped with sadness.

The world shifted. Both Felicitys' and her little girls' world, who didn't know any better. Everything was going to change.

Felicity fell back in her chair as her entire body went numb. If she were able to think properly, she would have been surprised she didn't drop the phone but the haunting red images and scenarios of what was now bound to happen flooded she conscious thought. She felt her heart stop beating. The air in her lungs froze.

"They know something is wrong and they're on to Romanov." Felicity heard the terror in her mothers' hurried words. She imagined her mother with tear filled eyes trying to be strong in a world that made her so afraid. Felicity gulped down air trying to force oxygen into her lungs again but all she could manage were shallow breaths. Staring blankly at nothing ahead, mouth agape, she sat stock still in her chair.

"How?" The word was barely a whisper but it was all she could manage.

"The hit on King… King is dead, baby, he's gone," Felicity knew this. She remember that night she sat here in the foundry staring into the cold dark eyes on the computer screen as she read the article that vaguely described how the man who had run the Vegas underground had been killed in some sort of raid.

"but Elias, h-he knows it was an inside job and he started looking into everyone, _everyone. _I tried, baby, I really did but… I-I did something stupid… I bought a few things using the money from Romanov, baby I'm so sorry… He followed the trail of money and it led to Starling City. Everyone knows how big the Russian mob is there so they think it was the Russians that they ordered the hit on King and that I was their mole."

There were sobs in her mothers' voice, breaks in her speech because she couldn't contain her guilt and sadness, which anyone else would have heard. But for Felicity, all she heard was that there was an army of the worst kind of men marching on her city to use it as a battlefield where so many of her loved ones sat waiting to inevitably caught in the crosshairs.

Felicity jumped from her seat and slammed her hand down on the table.

"I ASKED YOU, I _BEGGED _YOU TO _KEEP. HER. SAFE. _I TRUSTED YOU!" Her body contracted as she screamed, using the hand on the cold desk to steady her. Tears splattered on the smooth metal alerted Felicity she had streams running down her face. Felicity put a hand over her mouth, trying to stop the cries that she couldn't control.

"I know, baby, I'm so sorry…" Felicity heard the tears on the other end.

"She _needed_ you!" Felicity said, brokenly. Her heart felt ripped and bloody and raw. All she ever wanted was for Emaline to be safe. After everything she had endured in order to made that happen, this little girl, this piece of Felicity, was still in danger. There was silence on both ends for a minute.

"Honey… She screams at night. She still cries out for 'mom'."

The torment and guilt was audible from the phone. Felicity never knew she could feel emotional pain so physically. She didn't know how much more her body could take; her knees were shaking, her heart threw itself rapidly against her chest, breaking in the process, she was hyperventilating at this point and she could barely see through her blurred eyes.

"_See?!_ She _needed_ you! She _needs_ you!"

Felicity was about to collapse to the floor when a hand gripped her shoulder. Startled, she spun around, nocking the hand away and gripped the material of the person's chest, still gasping for breath. She stared at the death grip her pale hand had on the solid dark green-leathered chest that belonged to The Arrow, not knowing if she should push or pull. She felt the accelerated heart rate and the rigid muscles beneath the forest green. She wished that she could be saved from this by the hero with a bow and arrow but knew the Arrow couldn't protect her this time.

"Oh, baby… I was never the mom she needed. We both know I was never the mom she was screaming for…"

Felicity collapsed screaming out the pain of the shattered illusion she had foolishly made herself believe; the illusion that she had a sister, not a daughter, which she had left, but not abandoned. The clatter of a bow hitting the ground echoed in the open space as did her cries and more leather enveloped her as she fell. Curled into a ball, rocking against the warm wall of chest, which she now gripped with both hands, Felicity let herself break in the arms of Oliver Queen; the man who she knew would be by her side through this.

The forgotten phone lay a foot away, still emitting the cries of The Eldest Smoak who sat hundreds of miles away from Felicity as they both mourned over the daughters they had let down.

* * *

okay WOW. I promise to you all that Im not really a depressing person. Honestly I wrote this second part of this first and it was so sad (I was going for heartbreakingly beautiful, but lets call a spade a spade am I right?) that I wrote the first scene to lighten the mood a bit.

Im working on the next chapter so you guys wont be left long on this depressing note we have left off on.

PLEASE review and let me know what you think!


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